title: Structure of the polypeptide crotamine from the Brazilian rattlesnake Crotalus durissus terrificus.
abstract: The crystal structure of the myotoxic, cell-penetrating, basic polypeptide crotamine isolated from the venom of Crotalus durissus terrificus has been determined by single-wavelength anomalous dispersion techniques and refined at 1.7 Å resolution. The structure reveals distinct cationic and hydrophobic surface regions that are located on opposite sides of the molecule. This surface-charge distribution indicates its possible mode of interaction with negatively charged phospholipids and other molecular targets to account for its diverse pharmacological activities. Although the sequence identity between crotamine and human β-defensins is low, the three-dimensional structures of these functionally related peptides are similar. Since crotamine is a leading member of a large family of myotoxic peptides, its structure will provide a basis for the design of novel cell-penetrating molecules.
authors.affiliation: Multi User Center for Biomolecular Innovation, Department of Physics, São Paulo State University, UNESP/IBILCE, C. Postal 136, 15054-000 São José do Rio Preto-SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Monika A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Coronado
authors.forename: Azat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gabdulkhakov
authors.forename: Dessislava
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Georgieva
authors.forename: Banumathi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sankaran
authors.forename: Mario T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Raghuvir K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Arni
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Betzel
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D003435:Crotalid Venoms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D017839:Crotalus; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D030162:Reptilian Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D003435:Crotalid Venoms; D009498:Neurotoxins; D010455:Peptides; D030162:Reptilian Proteins; C013144:myotoxic component of rattlesnake venom; C010563:crotamine
keywords: crotamine; natural cell-penetrating polypeptides; snake venoms